We have been
studying in Genesis, in Chapter 19 this week. It is the story of Lot and the
visitors to Sodom and Gomorrah, the visitors being Angels from our Heavenly
Father. Some even say that it was the foretold Son of God in the form of Jesus,
but that is another bible study for another time.
Before arriving
at Sodom and Gomorrah, they stopped and chatted with Abraham. It is a very good
read in Chapter 18, beginning with verse 22. Well, actually the entire Chapter
is good but, for what we are discussing, let us begin with verse 22. Abraham
was trying to convince the angels , or the two men, as the bible states, the
business of finding just 50, 0r 40, or however many, working his way down to 10
good men left in Sodom and Gomorrah, asking or actually bargaining with the men,
if they would spare ‘the place’ for 10 righteous men.
An agreement
was reached, and the Lord said, “for the sake of 10 I will not destroy it,”
meaning the cities. Did I mention that some biblical scholars say that Lot was Abraham’s nephew? Lot’s family
was Abraham’s family.
So we return to Lot. When the men
reached the City, Lot was sitting in the Gate.
First off, for
Lot to be sitting in the Gate of the City speaks volumes about his character.
In biblical days, for a citizen of the city to sit in the gate, gave him a sort
of seat of honor. People would come to the man sitting in the gate, and discuss
their problems, arguments with others, who stole whose goat. Whatever the
situation, you could come to the man sitting in the gate and he was a judge or juror,
would settle disputes. It was a seat of honor.
In Lot’s case,
the reason it spoke of his character is he had migrated from living outside of
the city walls, and several moves later, inside of the city walls and became
assimilated into their people and their culture. He had become totally accepted
as one of them. Their culture was of a complete sinful nature. Scripture
describes it as wicked and depraved. Homosexuality between the men of the city
and sexual impurity was the culture of the city. What does that say about Lot?
He was not
involved with that sort of behavior himself. He was a righteous man who was ‘grieved
by the behavior’, but lived among the depravity and accepted it in life. Acceptance
in your life of the surrounding sin as a normal way of life is certainly
something to ponder.
You start to
accept the behavior as the norm, and although you do not behave that way, your
attitude is ‘well, it is just they way
everyone does business, and that is my crowd. You agree or accept the
behavior as the ‘norm’ and assimilate yourself to it.
As in the case
of Lot, there was a high price to be paid for that assimilation or compromise
in his life.
As was the
custom, Lot invited the men to his home, to ‘wash up’ or for their feet to be
washed and a meal shared, a bed provided. In the morning, they could go on
their way well cared for. They declined his gracious offer and said they would
sleep in the square. Their plan was to sit in the center of town, ‘to make a list and take down names.’
Their job was not to sit in a comfy home, eat chicken, and
drink ale.
Lot was unusually
insistent, and they returned to his home with him. It appears that Lot knew
what they might find or experience in the City Center. Since the men did not go
into town, the town men came to Lot’s home. They called out to Lot and to the
men to come outside and join them. They wanted Lot to turn his guest over to
their moral depravity. Lot refused, but offered his two daughters who were
unknown by man, or virgins, to satisfy the lust demands.
Now, these two
women were betrothed to men. It was the custom that ‘betrothed men’ were called
Sons in Law even before the marriage ceremony takes place. Women were held in
such low esteem in that time that Lot was willing to offer up his daughters to
spare his guests in his home. (That is also a topic for another bible study
week, but not today.) He was willing to protect the safety for his guests in
his own home before he would his own family.
The scene
became ugly, the men tried to rush the house, and the guest actually became the
protectors. They blinded the outside men so they could not gain entry and
encouraged Lot to gather his family and his Son’s in Law, and flee the city, do
not look back, keep going. You know the rest of the story and if you do not, go
read Chapter 19 of Genesis.
The point I am
writing about has to do with the compromise of this situation. The question we
have to ask is our own society in a state of compromise. Is it not just isolated
in one city or two, but our nation, our country and our world we live in? The
answer is yes, we live in a compromised society as a whole. We live in a
generation of political correctness. We live in a generation of general
tolerance of immoral or bad behavior. Look at the criminal activity that
surrounds us, as well as the political aspect we live in today. Money, power,
and manipulation are the names of the game.
Moreover, this
is generally acceptable behavior. It includes Christians as well as other
belief systems that surround us daily. We accept and assimilate. Moreover, just
what does that mean, accept and assimilate? That is a tough question for us. Sexual
immorality or impurity, lawless behavior, our children being submitted to
illicit behavior and teachings in our own school systems up to and including
college teaching.
In addition, what
about family structure and behavior among ourselves? What ‘rights’ do ‘we’
demand for ourselves that affect those around us, and we never think twice
about that . "This is what I believe will work for me", and even though it is
not an acceptable behavior in a relationship or marriage or family, it works
for him or her.
How have we all
compromised? Have we become a Lot living in Sodom and Gomorrah? Do we offer up
our unborn children to abortion?
What if Mary
had done an act of abortion to cover up her situation?
Has it become acceptable today to murder unborn children
that have become an inconvenience to what will ‘work for me’ today? This is not only about abortion, but other compromises as well.
We have all
compromised our values in one way or another. We do not want to listen to it,
or read the reality of it. Why ? Because all of us have compromised, assimilated into our
surroundings. What can we do about it?
There are many
good questions to ask ourselves. Can we change just one thing or stand up for
just one ‘something’ as a start? Maybe we can. This is a great deal to discuss
this week in our bible study. We might think about it next week as well.
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